Tuesday, May 4, 2010

OnFire #223 Yard Tools and Bike Tires

OnFire Encouragement Letter

OnFire #223 Yard Tools and Bike Tires

Hi Folks:

Happy Mother’s Day coming up on Sunday. In our church we celebrate this in our Sunday school with some special gatherings and Jan will speaking to the women. For those in the Moncton area, this is a special invitation to come out this Sunday at 9:30 to hear her.

Ian had a medical appointment in Halifax this week as a follow-up to his e-coli from almost two years ago. As Jan tells it, the doctor is simply amazed at how well Ian has recovered. Thank you again for your many prayers from that time.

This weekend is our Convention’s annual youth event called Spring Forth. I’ve been planning snacks and seminars for the middle school site and look forward to seeing lots of familiar faces again as people travel here from all over the Maritimes.

The countdown is on for our trip to Honduras. We will leave on May 15 for 11 days and visit a pastor in Siguatepeque who attended Crandall University last fall. We hope to be an encouragement as we take our team of seven to serve his church.

It’s the season for digging out yard equipment and inflating bicycle tires. Yesterday I mowed the lawn and pulled some weeds in the back yard. A few weeks ago the boys started biking again. and so we pumped up the bikes then.

Yard tools and bike tires. Did you ever notice that yard tools never look quite right covered in rust? They look a lot better when they are shiny from use. And, also, they seem to last the same amount of time whether they are worn out from using them, or rust out from sitting in the shed.

And what about bike tires? I can go all summer without pumping them up, but let them sit all winter and they go flat. It seems to me that tire tubes stay inflated better when they are used regularly.

Here is my theory about that - when the tires are used all the time, the microscopic holes in the butyl rubber keep themselves aligned and in the proper shape to keep in the air, but when they sit they get out of shape, out of alignment, and let the air leak. If you know of something different, let me know.

In 1 Peter 4:10, we read these words: “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.” *

I have found that when life presses in we often withdraw and close in on ourselves, thinking that we don’t have enough energy to look after ourselves, so why look out for someone else? What Peter knows is that our gifts find proper expression, not when we use them for ourselves, but for other people. We do not find peace, joy, contentment and fulfilment by withdrawing in the midst of life’s troubles, but rather when we serve others using whatever gifts and abilities God has given us.

Just as a bike tube goes flat when it is not used, so do we when we pull back and neglect using our gifts. Just as we clean the rust off the garden tools when we push them into the soil, we begin to shine when we serve others in the capacity we have.

Hope this helps. Be on fire.

Troy

PS - this is part of a sermon I preached this week. To listen download the mp3 file from my website - www.onfireletter.com

OnFire is a weekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. Troy is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church, Moncton NB Canada. This letter published May 4, 2010. *Scripture references taken from the New International Version. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at http://www.onfireletter.com/ Blog located at http://www.onfireletter.blogspot.com/

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About Me

I am married to Jan and we have two boys. I've been a pastor since 1994 and have served churches in Saint John NB, Grand Manan NB, Shelburne NS, and Moncton NB. I am currently a chaplain in Manitoba. My approach has always been that if I have problems with something, then someone else does, too, so let's do this together.